CEILING FANS!

Today will be about something other than music. I've had a fascination with fans since as young as I could remember, around the age of 3 or 4. They way they move sort of excites my senses, spinning around slowly and even quickly. In recent years I've started collecting them and even finding new homes for some of them. I installed my first ceiling fan back in 2009 in my own room. It was a Hampton Bay 42" hugger ceiling fan, not the most powerful ceiling fan but it was cheap and it got the job done.

I would occasionally go to people's houses and perform maintenance on on their ceilings fans, particularly Hunter Original ceiling fans. Most people don't realize that these ceiling fans do need to be maintained annually. Oil levels must be checked once a year in the oil cup of these fans, because if there is no oil in the cup the fan will eventually stop working. Replacing a Hunter Original is not a cheap task, the fan alone can cost between $350-500 brand new. Finding an older used one is very difficult as well as they sell quickly due to their reputation and overall quality. So if you have a Hunter Original or any cast iron ceiling fan for that matter, make sure to check the oil levels once a year so that you do not have to end up replacing the fan.

Speaking of Hunter Originals, I have recently acquired 1992 USA Hunter Original myself and is now hanging in my bedroom. I managed to get it off Craigslist for $25, but it had only 3 blades and 1 usable blade iron. So I went to the Habitat for Humanity Restore in Lafayette, LA and found 6 Casablanca Zephyr blades and a large globe for $15. The light kit that came with the fan was bad, so I bought a pull chain switch and a light socket for about $7 to fix the light kit. I also bought a pull chain set for $3 at the same store. The canopy and blade irons were missing most of it's screws so I had to buy replacement screws for about $5. Finally, the oil, which is Zoom Spout Oil I purchased from Grainger Supply for $5. The total price to purchase, repair, and make this fan operational was about $60. That price is a steal considering to buy a new one would cost you at least $350 and those aren't even made in the USA.

People often dismiss the importance that a ceiling has on your air conditioning. With a quality ceiling fan, you could raise your A/C thermostat by 8 degrees, which means you will save a lot of money on your electric bill annually. BUT REMEMBER!, your ceiling fan must be powerful for this to even be effective. If the ceiling fan doesn't move at least 6000 CFM of air or produce a wind speed of at least 5 MPH, you will be wasting your money. There are many quality brands out there including Emerson, Casablanca, Hunter, Fanimation, Craftmade, and many more. For the ones I listed I will show you, in my opinion, their best fans. None of these will exceed $400 and will produce at least 6000 CFM or a wind speed of at least 5 MPH.


Emerson: Designer Series 52"

This fan moves around 6400 CFM of air and the wind speed is nearly 5 MPH for only around $210 in the format seen here. This fan uses a powerful stacked motor that will last a long time.

Casablanca: Panama 4 Speed 50"

This fan moves around 6200 CFM of air with a wind speed of a little over 5 MPH for only around $300 in the format seen here. This fan has a stacked motor that is both long lasting and very powerful.

Hunter: The Original 52"

This fan moves nearly 7000 CFM of air with a wind speed well over 5 MPH for only $350 in the format seen here. This fan has an oil bathe motor which will last more than a lifetime and is extremely powerful. It can be configured to have 4 or 5 blades. Make sure to keep it oiled!

Fanimation: EdgeWood 52"

This fan moves nearly 6900 CFM of air with a wind speed of well over 5 MPH for only $220 in the format seen here. This fan uses a powerful stacked motor that will last a long time.

Craftmade: CXL Series 52"

This fan moves around 6500 CFM of air and has a wind speed of 5 MPH for only $158 in the format seen here. This fan uses a very powerful direct drive motor that will last a long time.

Whichever fan you happen to buy, please make sure it is a powerful one. A fan that cannot move enough air is only wasting electricity. 

Analog vs Digital

I know what you're thinking, "this debate again?". Well it's been around since the dawn of digital recording back in the early 1980s. Is analog better than digital or vice versa? Well to simplify things, for the price you pay for a digital recording, paying the same price for an analog recording may not get you better results. On the other hand the quality threshold for analog is much higher than digital. The more money you pump into an analog recording the better it will sound, digital does not have this luxury. Same goes for vinyl equipment vs CD equipment. Vinyl equipment will sound better than CD equipment at their maximum spending thresholds.

So what's the big deal about analog? Simple it captures everything perfectly. When you record digitally, it only captures frames of the waveform, but not the entire waveform. Many will say FLAC can compare to a Vinyl, but the truth is FLAC can only compare to CD which doesn't even begin to compare to Vinyl. The only things that make digital better than analog are this:

1. It's easier to record digitally, analog makes it a long tedious process if you make mistakes frequently.
2. Digital recordings do not degrade over time, analog tape reels and vinyl records wear away over the years and playback degrades them further.
3. Digital recordings weigh nothing, analog recordings weigh in the lbs.

These three things give digital it's own inviting quality, but no matter what, analog will always sound better than digital. There is no contest.

How do they get that sound? Question Answered!

As many of us bassists know, the grinding edged tone that have come from many greats such as Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, John Entwistle, John Wetton, and even Greg Lake have touch our ears in many ways that most people couldn't understand. Even I had fallen for this awesome tone when I first began playing bass, Geddy Lee was my main driving force when I first began playing bass. The real deal here though is that many people try to replicate this sound with no luck. I will now reveal to you the secret of unlocking the famous Prog Bass Tone that has paved the way for many bassists like myself. 

First lets address the type of instrument needed to get that sound. Many Geddy/Chris fans going for their sound usually grab a Rickenbacker 4001/4003, but it can also be done on a Fender Jazz Bass or a similar bass with two single coil pickups. Stainless steel strings set with very low action to the point of slight fret buzz on the lower frets is essential to get this sound, it creates the grind.

Once that has been established, next is the effects chain. I usually have a BOSS Bass Chorus pedal then a Bass Overdrive pedal in front of my amp. The chorus adds richness to the upper harmonics in tone giving it almost a piano-like quality. My knobs on it are set as followed: E.Level - Max, Low Filter - 100% Cut, Rate - 10:00, Depth - 10:00. The Low Filter is awesome because you can keep your fundamental frequencies unaffected by the chorus and only your upper harmonics are affected. 

Next is the overdrive, it gives you the extra edge you need to create this sound. Controls are setup as followed: Level - 12:00, EQ - (Bass - 1:00, Treble - 12:00), Balance - 100% OD, Gain - 9:00. The overdrive pedal sounds amazing, but I always add a little bass on it's EQ to compensate for the natural compression of the signal during the clipping process. 

Next up, the amp and speakers! Now this is where it gets tricky, because this will ultimately be the hit or miss of this tone. In order to get this sound, you will need a tube amp or a Tech21 Sansamp in front of your solid state rig. Whichever setup you use, always try to keep the gain clean; your grind and edge will be switchable this way with the overdrive pedal. Keep your EQ set flat, but I would completely roll off the presence as it makes the tone to brittle and thin. If you have a graphic EQ on your amp, completely roll off any frequency above 3.5 kHz and boost around 2 kHz range at least 6 dB. Anything higher than 3.5 kHz will make the tone sound brittle and fizzy and 2 kHz brings out the brightness of the tone. Add as much bass to suit your needs. 

The speakers! Well, I get my sound from 1 - 18" Carvin Bass Subwoofer. It has an frequency range of 30Hz - 2kHz. I prefer this range because I usually don't like anything higher than 2 kHz, but up to 3.5 kHz will still be good. Just remember to EQ your amp properly otherwise you may end up with a fizz factory or a giant mud puddle. 

Here's my setup chain for this tone:

SX Jazz Bass/Cort Action V Bass > BOSS Bass Chorus > BOSS Bass Overdrive > Carvin BX500 > Carvin 1x18 Subwoofer.

My Prog Bass Tone setup. First without the pedals, then with the pedals.

The wheel on the table keeps on turnin'!

Sometime back in late 2011, I was given my first two LPs by my now former supervisor. He was a big Rush fan and he had a few copies of some Rush albums. He gave me Rush's Hemispheres and their first live album All the World's a Stage.

I had two LPs, but nothing to play them on. That issued was later addressed when my amazing girlfriend got me a portable record player for Christmas in 2011. It isn't very loud or doesn't have much bass but it plays records, and it still plays them. In fact, it has ran on the same set of batteries that it came with for over a year now. For private listening or a portable solution to carrying around a bulky setup, this thing is amazing. After hearing my albums as well as some of my girlfriend's albums, I was hooked. 

Sometime later, my girlfriend and I were in Houston, I had finished my gig and we stopped at a Half Price Books store. There were a countless number of records, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was here that I purchased 5 LPs: ELP's Pictures at an Exhibition, Kansas' Point of Know Return and Leftoverture, Toto IV, and Steely Dan's Aja. I immediately played these albums once I returned home. I was nothing but impressed hearing these albums on phonograph.

 Later on, sometime in Spring 2012 my co-worker and I stopped by a thrift store on our way back to our work shop. As I looked around in the store, something had caught my attention. Laying on the floor in a corner, there was a component turntable. It was only $30 dollars, and that's all I had on me. I spent all of my lunch money on a turntable. It was missing a needle though, so I had to order a new headshell for it. A replacement cartridge for the stylus on the tone arm then would've cost me around $200, way more than a new headshell. Before I ever ordered the new headshell, I ordered a newly pressed LP, ELP's Brain Salad Surgery. I was aware that it could sound bad with all the digital remastering of today's standard. I played the LP and I was impressed but at the same time disappointed. I was impressed because it had more clarity than I thought it would being a modern mastering. The disappointment came from the fact that the audio is compressed and maximized to the point where the original dynamics are barely audible anymore, this is also due to the modern mastering. 

I finally purchased the headshell for the turntable and I began listening to my LPs on my HiFi Stereo. Needless to say, I was even more blown away than before hearing all the frequencies I couldn't hear before. I stopped playing LPs for about 6 months until around this time. I am surprised to find that my thrift store turntable was broken after 6 months of no use. Not happy with the situation I go ahead and dispose of it and keep the headshell. I have ordered 16 albums and I will comment on this post once I have a listen to them. 

Tubah!

Since I was freshmen in high school (almost 10 years ago), I have played tuba. In the picture below I'm seen holding a sousaphone during my last months in high school (wearing my band uniform to boot). The horn below is a Jupiter FiberBrass Sousaphone.

After high school I joined a local community band, they gave me a nice tuba play which you can see me playing in the picture below. It has it's issues just like every large tuba does. Of course at the time I wasn't used to playing such a cumbersome instrument. Up until then, I had used Bb tubas for about 6 years. I met my greatest challenge, playing this tuba. It's keyed in C, it takes twice the lung power compared to any tuba I've played thus far, and to make matters worse it's intonation was about as accurate a marksman shooting blind. With all these issues though I managed to overcome this beast. The one thing about this horn that I enjoy is that you can play loudly it will not over-blow easily. I have played this horn for little over 3 years now, but I wanted my own tuba to own. The horn below is a Melton 2155R 5/4 C Tuba, only around 20 of these were ever made.

In December of 2012, I gathered enough money to purchase an Eb Tuba. I had wanted something extremely versatile, because if I was to own only one tuba that horn had to be versatile. I read around on the internet for different opinions and the majority of tuba players had said the Eb was the best all-around-er tuba. It's a Besson 981 knockoff costing only around $2500 provided by a British company known as Wessex Tubas. Jonathon Hodgetts is the owner and he provides excellent custom service. He play tests every horn that comes from the factory in China, and if he doesn't like it he won't sell it. So far the tuba has been great, it has an excellent upper and middle register but the lower register can be kind of stuffy at times. The stuffy lower register is heavily in part due to the fact it is a compensating horn. That is to say that when you press the 4th valve, it's tubing loops back into the valve section. When you depress more valves to the depressed 4th valve, it adds more length to the 4th valve tubing according to which additional valves are depressed. If this system were not present on this horn, the lower register would be very difficult to navigate through because of bad intonation. With this system one could simply play a G on 1+2 and to go an octave lower, you would just add the 4th valve. 

Overall if you're not sure what tuba to purchase, try them if you're not sure. If the situation allows it, always try before you buy! Do not buy a horn you will not like later on down the road.